[ramki067]

Rajain,

Very good review of your Ertiga and very nice updates about the extra products you have installed. Way to go buddy

I wished that Rs.10.4L for the top end model, they should have installed all the bells and whistles, so to say at least a climate control as this a highway car mostly to most buyers.

Do update us about the long drive experience with your Ertiga. Wish you a safe and happy journey.

[vasanthn21]

It would be nice to see a picture of the grar lock (the poor gear lock deserves a bit of fame after all the bashing it recieved )

Very nice review. Maruti has this product extremely well. No wonder it is selling well.

[adi_sun]

nice mods ! specially the light force lamps.
how much did you pay for these , please post some night time pics.
planning to have something similar for my SX4 diesel. Also the race dynamics looks very very appealing. any new update on this ?

[Rajain]

Hi Ramki067 – Thank you for your kind words. I have set the vehicle up with a long term ownership in mind. My existing vehicle, Opel Corsa Sail is a 2003 model and of course is still sailing. Yes I totally agree that a top end 10.4 L on road in Bangalore vehicle should have all the bells and whistles. A climate control would have really helped. SX4 DDI does have a climate control. Some additions to the vehicle are in the pictures below. Thank you for your wishes on the long drive coming up. We are heading out over the coming weekend.

Hi Vasanthn21 – Thank you. Yes you are right the gear lock does deserve some warm and fuzzy feeling. The images are below. It now works like a dream. It’s very useful and totally hidden. Slot the vehicle in reverse or 4th gear and lock it. It’s certainly not for a normal thief to get through this additional defence. You are right it’s a good product from Maruti-Suzuki and creates a whole new segment. I do think when reading monthly sales figures of the existing vehicles, Ertiga has fallen in December. Maybe that is due to year end or it could be the Duster effect.

Hi Adi Sun – Thank you. The light force I had purchased 3 years ago or so and first did duty in My Opel. Several long cross country drives and they have given hours and hours of good performance. They are light weight and have a nice light throw. A picture is certainly due. I have checked a couple of other spot lights. In fact I think Light Force did a review of 32 different light manufacturers and came up tops. In the absence of HID I think the Ertiga now has a good set of lights. Outside the city on a highway the only thing that lights up through the darkness is lights. I personally think Ertiga came with poor OEM lights. Compare this with OEM lights of Ford Fiesta, XUV, Indigo or even i20. Not to forget that almost all trucks have standard 4 headlamps and in fact Volvo B9R has 3 projector and 1 large light on each side. Thankfully most length of the Golden Quadrilateral is now 4-6 lanes.

Pictures of the gear lock - first 2 unlocked and next 2 locked position

[amitpunjani]

Originally Posted by Rajain

Hi Ramki067 – Thank you for your kind words. I have set the vehicle up with a long term ownership in mind. My existing vehicle, Opel Corsa Sail is a 2003 model and of course is still sailing. Yes I totally agree that a top end 10.4 L on road in Bangalore vehicle should have all the bells and whistles. A climate control would have really helped. SX4 DDI does have a climate control. Some additions to the vehicle are in the pictures below. Thank you for your wishes on the long drive coming up. We are heading out over the coming weekend.

Hi Vasanthn21 – Thank you. Yes you are right the gear lock does deserve some warm and fuzzy feeling. The images are below. It now works like a dream. It’s very useful and totally hidden. Slot the vehicle in reverse or 4th gear and lock it. It’s certainly not for a normal thief to get through this additional defence. You are right it’s a good product from Maruti-Suzuki and creates a whole new segment. I do think when reading monthly sales figures of the existing vehicles, Ertiga has fallen in December. Maybe that is due to year end or it could be the Duster effect.

Hi Adi Sun – Thank you. The light force I had purchased 3 years ago or so and first did duty in My Opel. Several long cross country drives and they have given hours and hours of good performance. They are light weight and have a nice light throw. A picture is certainly due. I have checked a couple of other spot lights. In fact I think Light Force did a review of 32 different light manufacturers and came up tops. In the absence of HID I think the Ertiga now has a good set of lights. Outside the city on a highway the only thing that lights up through the darkness is lights. I personally think Ertiga came with poor OEM lights. Compare this with OEM lights of Ford Fiesta, XUV, Indigo or even i20. Not to forget that almost all trucks have standard 4 headlamps and in fact Volvo B9R has 3 projector and 1 large light on each side. Thankfully most length of the Golden Quadrilateral is now 4-6 lanes.

Pictures of the gear lock - first 2 unlocked and next 2 locked position

Hi Buddy,

Could you please kindly let me know, if this gear lock on the driver side? I have SX4 ZDi. The Minda gear lock is on the driver side, whenever i drive, i have to push the seat in front and while engaging the gear lock, i have to push the seat all the way back.

The back and forth of the seat is sometimes a real pain. I thought of putting the gear lock on the co-driver side, but MASS said it can't be done. I am 100% not satisfied with their answer.

Thanks

Amit

[Rajain]

Hi Amitpunjani - This gear lock is on the driver's side. Yes you are right moving the driver's seat back and forth does create some frustration but I end up using this only when I am parking in not so secure places or while travelling outside of my home town. My daily parking is somewhat secure (or at least I'd like to believe) - at housing complex basement and again at office basement.

I think the way the lock is created it has a locking mechanism for 4th gear or reverse and therefore even if the bad guy were to start the UV he would not be able to drive it away since the vehicle would not move from stationary position and slotted in 4th gear. While in reverse it will move but if it is parked intelligently (like a wall behind) driving it away in reverse would not be easy and therefore a gear lock makes it rather difficult for the bad guy. I would imagine if the gear lock is on the co-passenger side it would need to be slotted in 2nd gear and that would make it ineffective.

I would add that having to move the seat actually hides the lock from outside. One can say thats a good thing...though some may think not exactly so after all deterrent should be visible.

Cheers

[ad75]

Hi rajain

you really love your cars dont you? attention to detail is evident from the stuff you have got for your car.

Have few questions for you

1. did the replacement speakers fit at the stock locations without any modifications to door panels?
2. the Doors and bumper protectors are MGA? whats the cost?

[Rajain]

Originally Posted by ad75

Hi rajain

you really love your cars dont you? attention to detail is evident from the stuff you have got for your car.

Have few questions for you

1. did the replacement speakers fit at the stock locations without any modifications to door panels?
2. the Doors and bumper protectors are MGA? whats the cost?

Hi Ad75

Thank you for your kind words. Yes I do spend time having a conversation with my cars. They tell me how they are feeling and what I should do to take care of them since on a long lonely stretch of highway late at night its the car that stands by and brings you home. I am presently on a long drive with family and earlier in the day I saw a Fiat 1969 (with an uncle in Baroda) model that started in first time turning of the key. He drives it around in Baroda. My family and I drove up here from Bangalore and also plan south RJ before heading back to Bangalore.

The replacement speakers fitted the stock locations. The OEM speakers are good and they are also light weight. The replacement speakers were slightly heavier but did not need any modifications. The door and bumper protection is standard MGA and approx 2200 INR.

Some experience of MGA - They won't give door damper/noise kill in the doors. I got this done outside as they (MGA) have no idea how to tune an amp. Please take the music that you would to test a system and then have your music tuner spend half an hour to help you get the notes the way you want them. Its a very different feeling listening to the music the way you want rather than the way MGA leaves it. And yes without a door damper the job is half done. They had even mixed up the front and rear bumper protection and had to redo it since I made some noise similar to the gear lock.

Its my belief that every single thing needs attention and detailed attention. Cars are certainly very advanced these days but love your car and it loves you back and takes care of you.

Hope this is helpful

Cheers

[ad75]

Originally Posted by Rajain

My family and I drove up here from Bangalore and also plan south RJ before heading back to Bangalore.

The replacement speakers fitted the stock locations. The OEM speakers are good and they are also light weight. The replacement speakers were slightly heavier but did not need any modifications. The door and bumper protection is standard MGA and approx 2200 INR.

Hope this is helpful

Cheers

Thanks for the info.
Have a great trip.

[Musa]

Wonderful thread Rajain.
I am more or less in the same space as you in selecting my next vehicle.
Storme, Storme (upper end of my budget) and then the Ertiga etc. I haven't driven much cross country yet but really want to do a lot of that in the time to come so looking for a capable vehicle which is spacious, frugal & reliable. Your posts have definitely given much food for thought and Thanks again for the same.

I have one question ...
Have you done a tankful-to-tankful check of the kitna deti hai question on different settings of the Dieseltronic? A 20-40% increase in fuel efficiency in amazing. Just wanted to know if you have actually tested this (vs their claim)?

I have a Figo Diesel currently and planning to put in a box but hesitating right now as I am not convinced about the claims of all these tuning boxes and also warranty concerns.

Thanks in advance and looking forward to more of your posts,

[Rajain]

Originally Posted by Musa

Wonderful thread Rajain.
I am more or less in the same space as you in selecting my next vehicle.
Storme, Storme (upper end of my budget) and then the Ertiga etc. I haven't driven much cross country yet but really want to do a lot of that in the time to come so looking for a capable vehicle which is spacious, frugal & reliable. Your posts have definitely given much food for thought and Thanks again for the same.

I have one question ...
Have you done a tankful-to-tankful check of the kitna deti hai question on different settings of the Dieseltronic? A 20-40% increase in fuel efficiency in amazing. Just wanted to know if you have actually tested this (vs their claim)?



I have a Figo Diesel currently and planning to put in a box but hesitating right now as I am not convinced about the claims of all these tuning boxes and also warranty concerns.

Thanks in advance and looking forward to more of your posts,

Hi Musa
If there is a good justification for a 4x4 then Storme is a different league. I also understand that a 2x4 also develops a lovely mid range torque. I did consider both the Safari and the Scorpio. Ertiga looked nice and fresh. Duster is also a very good contender now. But perhaps loses out on the last row seating. The Ertiga is a good versitile, flexible and good engine vehicle. Given that it has the same engine as the SX 4, it is certainly frugal.

On the tankful to tankful question for RD box - I for one don't think there has been a 40% increase in fuel efficiency but I think 15-20%. Certainly on the highway, the low fuel warning comes up around 600 kms mark (give or take 20 kms). Now this could be attributed to a number of other causes, apart from RD box - quality of fuel, driving conditions, amount of traffic and probably the load factor in the vehicle. In P1 (increase power and efficiency) setting I almost all the times cross 600 while in S setting (stock) I hover around 550 (give or take 15 kms) before the low fuel warning comes up. Just to bear in mind that I always drive with AC on. Only when the outside temp is below 20 then there is no AC but then the windows are all rolled up (reducing wind resistence).

The warranty certainly voids. But if you learn how to remove and fix it again then you could get past that issue. It is a 15 minute job. Ultimately you will end up asking yourself the question was the 20K worth or would you have been better off without it.

Cheers

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by Rajain

... I for one don't think there has been a 40% increase in fuel efficiency but I think 15-20%....In P1 (increase power and efficiency) setting I almost all the times cross 600 while in S setting (stock) I hover around 550 (give or take 15 kms) before the low fuel warning comes up...

As far as I know, in P1, you are supposed to get only 15-20% extra FE. 40% FE increase claim is in "E" mode if I am not wrong. Assuming that you have been driving in P1 mode (from what you wrote above), you are pretty much at par with the claims.

How is the low end with P1?? Has the lag be taken care of?

[Rajain]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

As far as I know, in P1, you are supposed to get only 15-20% extra FE. 40% FE increase claim is in "E" mode if I am not wrong. Assuming that you have been driving in P1 mode (from what you wrote above), you are pretty much at par with the claims.

How is the low end with P1?? Has the lag be taken care of?

Hi Swiftnfurious

Yes you are right. P1 is supposed to increase power and economy to a 15% max. The E mode is where I would imagine there is a 35-40% increase. I have not done a tanful to tankful in the E mode. For city I sometimes go to S mode which is stock setting.

The turbo lag is certainly absent in P1 setting. None at all. I'd say it does not feel like a diesel vehicle at all.

I just finished a long drive. Almost 3800 kms through KA, MH, GJ and RJ. A travelogue will come up shortly but initial impressions are outstanding for the vehicle.

Cheers

[AGP]

Dear Friends,

Hi, I have got delivery of Maruti Ertiga on 29th January 2013. I am now the proud owner of my new white Ertiga VXI. Since I am travelling for last couple of days, I could not post my feedback and buying experience. However, I have a quick question regarding the manufacturing month and year of my Ertiga.

While booking I had clearly mentioned that the make should be of January 2013 only and I will not accept if it is of 2012 make.

During Inspection and with the help of one of the thread I could find that for my chesis number MA3ELMG1S00164235*AD, it is January 2013 make. I was very relaxed.

However, during an after market steel guard installation one of the customer informed me that it is 2012 model as it is printed on the Glass. I checked it and found some number written on all the window glass which reads like 12*

Now I am confused, whether the vehicle is 2013 or 2012 make.

Guys please help me.

Regards,

Anil

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by AGP

Hi, I have got delivery of Maruti Ertiga on 29th January 2013. I am now the proud owner of my new white Ertiga VXI.

Congratulations on taking the delivery of your Ertiga. Wishing you many happy (s)miles with it.

During Inspection and with the help of one of the thread I could find that for my chesis number MA3ELMG1S00164235*AD, it is January 2013 make. I was very relaxed.

However, during an after market steel guard installation one of the customer informed me that it is 2012 model as it is printed on the Glass. I checked it and found some number written on all the window glass which reads like 12* Now I am confused, whether the vehicle is 2013 or 2012 make. Guys please help me.Anil

Don't worry much. The most important part is the engine & chasis. If their date of manufacturing is confirmed to be Jan 2013, then the whole car can be assembled in Jan 2013 or after that. Yes some parts could be from the end of 2012. It could happen that all the parts in a car are not not manufactured at the same time. For some parts they have to build up some inventory (for whatever reasons). So probably the window glass (only) could be from an older lot. But that's it. So stop worrying & enjoy your car. Most importantly please don't forget to start your ownership thread.